1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machine for removing poultry, in particular turkeys, from breeding sheds and introducing them into cages or hutches. Such a machine is generally referred to more briefly as a “poultry-loading machine”. In the case where the poultry to be loaded are turkeys, a machine of this type is called a “turkey-loading machine”.
2. Related Art and other Considerations
It is widely known that most poultry to be slaughtered is at present bred inside large sheds or the like. Inside these sheds thousands of birds are bred using very advanced breeding techniques. Intensive breeding techniques of this type make it is possible to achieve large economies of scale for the breeders which in turn results in advantages, in cost terms, for the consumers who purchase cuts of meat from animals bred in this way. Moreover, this type of intensive breeding results in a substantial uniformity of the animals bred. After a certain predefined period of time the bred poultry has reached its correct weight and is ready for slaughtering.
At the end of the breeding period, the live animals must be removed, without injuring them, from the shed where they have been bred and taken away for the next processing operations, i.e. typically transported to the slaughter house.
There therefore arises the need to remove all the animals from the breeding shed in relatively short periods of time and introduce them into cages. Once they have been closed inside the cages, they may be easily transported by a lorry or similar transportation means. The problem, as mentioned above, lies in the fact that several thousands of birds, for example turkeys, are bred inside the sheds and must be removed and introduced into cages without injuring them.
In some countries, in particular, in those countries where the cost of labour is relatively low, the operations of removing the animals and introducing them into cages are also performed manually. This is difficult, time-consuming and often results in injury to the animals. However, in most cases, the removal and caging operations are performed using special machines, commonly called “poultry-loading machines”. In the specific case where the poultry consists of turkeys, these machines are called “turkey-loading machines”. Unlike other birds which are bred (such as chickens or guinea fowl), turkeys have a much greater weight. An adult male turkey bred as described briefly above at present reaches a weight of about 20 kg and more.
Turkey-loading machines are, however, already known in the art.
Italian patent application No. 19247 A/80, filed on 16 Jan. 1980 in the name of Messrs Francesco Giovanni Calabria and Carlo Calabria describes a conveying apparatus for live poultry. The apparatus comprises a machine and a box for collecting the animals. Caging is performed automatically by means of a combined system of conveyor belts which introduce the animals directly into the cages.
IT01284060, filed on 24 Jun. 1996, in the name of Ciemme di Calabria F .lli S.n.c., describes a device for introducing into hutches and the like poultry in general and turkeys in particular. The device has a loading belt and, in the vicinity of the cages, an upper belt which creates a sandwich effect and forces the turkeys to lower their heads and enter into the cages.